Still images from police body-camera video taken from Assemblywoman Maria Rodriguez-Gregg’s DWI arrest on April 28 in Mount Laurel.
SUBMITTED IMAGE

MOUNT LAUREL >> Assemblywoman Maria Rodriguez-Gregg (R-Burlington) had some not-so-nice things to say about police during her DWI arrest earlier this year.

According to body-camera footage obtained by The Trentonian through a public records request, Rodriguez-Gregg was argumentative with police for a majority of the crash investigation after her vehicle was rear-ended on Route 73 in Mount Laurel on April 28 at approximately 3 a.m. at a stop light at Fellowship Road by a Maryland driver.

“I have done nothing but support the police,” the assemblywoman tells the officers. “I am even one of your No. 1 supporters politically. F**king a**holes.”

When police first arrive on the scene, the assemblywoman, who will not seek re-election this year, is aggressively making accusations against the driver who hit her to police.

Advertisement

“It’s 3 in the morning and they’re probably drinking,” she said, her voice growing louder. “Make them do a breathalyzer.”

Fixing her hair and putting on lip gloss during her conversation with Mount Laurel police officer Christopher McElroy, Rodriguez-Gregg describes the situation as “absolutely frustrating.”

“I don’t need this kind of s**t from these a**holes who can’t drive,” said Rodriguez-Gregg, the state’s first Hispanic Republican woman elected to the legislature. “That’s what happens when you rear-end people, driving full speed because you’re drunk.”

Rodriguez-Gregg, 35, of Medford, and the other driver and his passenger sustained minor injuries.

The assemblywoman’s attorney, Edward Kologi, blamed his client’s behavior on the crash.

“It appears clear that she was extremely upset,” the Linden-based attorney said Thursday night. “And I don’t think that’s unusual if you’re someone who’s involved in a significant motor vehicle accident with injury and, all of the sudden, everything is being directed toward you.”

Weed Suspicions

Despite being found not at fault for the accident, Rodriguez was charged with driving while intoxicated because police smelled suspected marijuana in her car. She was also charged with obstruction and reckless driving.

Suspicions about the weed smell arose from Mount Laurel officer Brian Bell while talking to McElroy.

Rodriguez-Gregg then grows angrier about the accusation and name drops who she is.

“Are you serious right now?” she tells the officer. “I’m a sitting assemblywoman. Do you really think that I’m f**king smoking cigars? Oh, I’m sorry, smoking marijuana at this time of night?”

McElroy informs Rodriguez-Gregg that police are “just making sure” and not to “get angry.” The officer also tells her he doesn’t know who she is.

“I got rear-ended and you guys are treating me like I’m the f**king a**hole,” Rodriguez-Gregg says. “You see somebody that rear-ended me and you see me upset because I got rear-ended and now you’re trying to put it on me.”

When McElroy returns to Bell’s vehicle, he explains “she was polite for a second” and that he did smell weed.

Bell then orders a search of the vehicle, citing the case, New Jersey v. Witt.

“If the odor of marijuana is emanating from your vehicle, we can search your vehicle,” Bell tells the assemblywoman, informing her he will lock her up for obstruction if she does not comply.

“Please do not talk to me that way,” she says. “I am a sitting assemblywoman. I am not an a**hole.”

After exiting her vehicle, McElroy begins searching her car.

The officer ultimately finds nothing except a cigar and her roller derby gear.

Blood Test

The police’s secondary assumptions may have been correct.

Rodriguez’s attorney confirmed Thursday that a blood test came back positive for alcohol. Kologi would not get into numbers but classified her test as “borderline in terms of evaluating a DWI case. He said there was no marijuana in her system.

Kologi will file motion shortly to suppress the results of her blood/alcohol test.

“Procedurally, there were numerous deficiencies and we’re hopeful that the court will recognize that immediately and indicate that she was not treated in conformity with the law,” Kologi said, adding police took the blood sample without following the necessary protocols. “You need a warrant to obtain a blood sample unless you have consent. In this case, there was no effective consent given and there was no warrant obtained so the results of any blood work are the subject of our suppression motion.”

Unlike Rodriguez-Gregg, however, the driver at fault in the accident, Raiwan Faisal, of Maryland, was never given any test.

Police said Faisal told them he had one beer earlier in the day. McElory says in the video he “got no slur” from Faisal.

Lt. Michael Rakauckas, who was not present at the scene, confirmed Thursday that no tests were preformed on the Maryland driver.

“I’m assuming nothing led them enough suspicion to do a field sobriety test,” Rakauckas said.

Kologi said Faisal was charged with moving violations and “already entered a guilty plea” to a reduced charge from the summons he received from the accident. The attorney finds it odd Rodriguez-Gregg was charged with reckless driving and the driver that hit her received a lesser offense.

“It’s extremely normal in a DWI case where there’s operation of a vehicle to also charge the person with reckless driving, more or less as a backup,” Kologi said. “In this particular case, it’s ludicrous because she didn’t do anything reckless because she’s the one who got hit in the rear.”

The attorney believes police overreacted.

“She was extremely upset and the police appeared to focus not on the vehicle or the occupants of the vehicle that struck her, but their focus was initially and then increasingly directed at Ms. Rodriguez-Gregg,” Kologi said. “I certainly understand why she was so upset and I don’t want to believe that the police held against her, the fact that she was so upset in making their determinations as to whether there was an objective reason to charge her.”

The Arrest

As Rodriguez-Gregg is near a median in the middle of the roadway as police search her vehicle, she continually let’s it be known who she is.

“I’m a sitting assemblywoman,” she says. “I will not be harassed by you. I’m watching them, making sure they don’t do anything. I don’t trust any of you.”

Because of her status, she lets police know that, “Everybody is going to know about this s**t” and that they are “racist.”

Shortly after refusing a field sobriety test, Rodriguez-Gregg is placed in handcuffs.

“Please don’t arrest me,” she says, starting to tear up. “What did I do wrong?” Officers tells her she is charged with obstruction and she was “given repeated opportunities” to allow them to investigate.

As she is led to the police car, the officers claim to still smell marijuana on her.

“I smell it on her now,” one officer says.

“So do I,” a second officer chips in.

Immediately followed by a, “Yeah, me too,” from a third officer.

The ultimate determination to arrest Rodriguez came from an order by Mount Laurel Sgt. Corey Jones, who was ironically the supervisor requested to the scene by Rodriguez-Gregg.

Jones asked Bell if he thinks she is under the influence.

“She has glossy eyes, slurred speech and she’s clearly excited,” Bell says. “I have a suspicion she might be under the influence.”

While in the backseat of the vehicle, Rodriguez-Gregg undoes her seat belt at one point, which forces the cop to stop the vehicle and put her seat belt back on.

The assemblywoman spends most of her time in the car letting the cops know what she thinks of them.

“I’m f**king suing you,” she says. “You guys are evil. You guys are so f**king evil.”

The self-proclaimed single mom tells McElroy, “This is why police officers have a bad name.” “You’re ruining the name of good police officers because there are so many good police out there and you’re ruining them by doing s**t like this,” says the assemblywoman, who assumed office in 2014. “You’re hurting good police officers. You’re putting them in a bad position and hurting their safety and security because of nonsense like this.”

Rodriguez-Gregg even tells the officer to “Don’t plant s**t” in her car.

“Mam, no one is planting anything in your car,” McElroy responds.

“You guys are f**king ridiculous,” Rodriguez-Gregg says. “You should be so ashamed of yourselves. How do you live with yourself?”

“Easily,” McElroy says.

Rodriguez-Gregg did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Kologi asserts his client “was the victim.”

“Everyone should know better that you don’t drive with any alcohol in you,” the attorney said. “But every case where someone has a few drinks does not automatically create a DWI case.”

About the Author

Originally from Webster, N.Y., David has been a reporter in N.J. for the past three years (first in Phillipsburg and now in Trenton).He is a Temple alum who interned at the Philadelphia Daily News. Reach the author at dfoster@trentonian.com
.